TED Fellows 2009: Seth Raphael

The TED Fellows are among the world's experts at spreading great ideas. Each year the organisation picks 50 people doing groundbreaking work in a vast range of disciplines. The fellows at this year's TEDGlobal event in Oxford included a political scientist, a pastor, an Ethiopian singer, a high-tech magician and an astronomer.

Each fellow presents his or her work in a two-day pre-conference event, staying on for the main conference to meet and debate with the entrepreneurs, artists,- scientists, doctors, researchers and film-makers that make up the TED audience.

Here is the second of six TED Fellow profiles to appear on Wired.co.uk. A total of six will appear in Wired magazine over the next few issues. In this piece, we profile Seth Raphael.

You describe yourself as a high-tech magician - what does this mean?

The role of the magician is to bring dreams into reality. That is why we will never tire of pulling coins out of your ears: you will never stop dreaming of having more money. In order for magic to be interesting, it must attempt to do something that is impossible and then apparently succeed. The advance of technology has rapidly changed what is possible, and likewise, what lies in the realm of "impossibility" has changed just as quickly. I saw an opportunity to play on the border of what isn't quite-yet-possible as a way of inspiring new dreams about technology and a way to discuss the impacts of technologies that are just around the corner. In my stage show, when Instant Messenger telepathically reveals my audiences deepest desires, it elicits wonder. When the audience then realises that Facebook is not so far off, it opens a kind of conversation that can be proactive, as opposed to re-active. We can help create the future that we want, and discuss the future that we don't want.

For Where is Wonder?, you recorded the audience watching you - are you planning on using this concept again and if so, would you use technology to develop it further?

I love to watch my audiences. It is a large part of the reason I perform magic: the primordial look of raw astonishment. By recording synchronised individual reactions to wonder, it not only gives me motivation, but it gives me a new tool to refine my art with. I can see how different people react differently, which moments of misdirection failed, and I can begin to understand the universal parts of my magic. I am definitely interested in pursuing this farther. The next generation of this technology will allow me to see an array of faces looking at me through the computer screen. I'll be able to review their responses in relation to my performance, and use this to find the nuances to help me improve.

But this technology is not just good for performers. Using it to record and analyse discussions, debates, negotiations could lead to tremendous breakthroughs and new insights into non-verbal communication. Dr. Picard, my advisor at the MIT Media Lab, is using this technology to help people with autism learn the subtle ins and outs of communicating, and allowing them to change their behaviour in real time, with a computer's assistance.

Can you tell us more about Children without Borders - is this the technology as opposed to the magical side of your work?

Part of what I love about technology is that it makes so many things that used to be impossible, possible. With my project "Children Without Borders" I envisioned a future where the face of globalisation was not a trans-national corporation, but children. Witnessing the US foster so many stereotypes and misunderstandings about "others" whether they are Muslim or Mexican, I realised children could bypass this by making friends. Technology created a window of opportunity. Insanely low prices of digital recording devices, the proliferation of tools like "Movie Maker" and the ubiquity of internet cafes made it realistic for young children around the world to become movie directors and begin cross-cultural collaboration. "Children Without Borders" was my experiment in reshaping globalisation.

I love helping people figure out how to do the impossible things they are dreaming of, either with magic, or technology.

What are you working on at the moment?

It is a ceaseless project to stay ahead of the cutting edge of technology, so I spend a lot of time playing. The rest of my time I spend helping companies and organisations dream bigger, take advantage of the newest tools, and to create magic. I work with a team of facilitators to create a "cross-pollination force" within an organisation to help bring about that culture of change everyone is always talking about. Our secret is to teach people that anything is possible, and then make them achieve it.

How did the TEDGlobal event affect you? Was it helpful for your work?

TEDGlobal was a fresh of breath air. Being surrounded by so many people who could say "Yeah! I've been thinking about that too!" reminded me that the world is really ready for a little more magic right now. The best part by far, however, were the other TED Fellows. It was such an honour to be among some of the most amazing, brave and creative people I've had the pleasure of meeting.